


A Christmas Sweater Story

by yetanotherramblingfangirl



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, F/F, Flirting, Gen, Pre-Relationship, being useless because flirting, proto-hackle, they're just regular middle school teachers for some reason?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-17 23:25:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16983792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yetanotherramblingfangirl/pseuds/yetanotherramblingfangirl
Summary: Ada surprises Hecate with a sweater for Dimity's party.





	A Christmas Sweater Story

The mailroom was empty save for Hecate, something she didn’t mind in the slightest. If anything, the throbbing at her temples after a particularly trying chemistry lesson made the quiet most welcome. A few quiet moments to sort through the contents of her pigeonhole without interruption was all she needed in order to ease the tension that only 13 year olds could cause.

She was in the middle of sorting memos from junk mail when Ada entered the room. Ada’s flushed face and furrowed brow gave her a particularly harried appearance. Hecate’s heart sped up a beat at the sight and her hands clenched around the stack of advertisements and catalogs she’d been about to throw away. The urge to soothe away whatever problem plagued Ada was strong, almost magnetic. She found herself moving across the room without any conscious thought, her movements made somewhat awkward by the stack of junk mail clutched in one hand. “Ada? Is everything alright?”

“Oh good! I was just looking for you in your classroom. I picked you up something for tonight,” Ada said as she thrust a gift bag into Hecate’s hands. Her expression melted into one of relief. “You’re probably going to hate it, but given the circumstances I think you’re just going to have to live with it.”

Hecate took the bag and pulled out the neatly folded sweater within. It was soft to the touch and smelled of the laundry detergent Ada favored. It took everything she had not to bring the sweater directly to her nose. To distract herself from that thought, she focused on the garish color and gray blobby creature on the front. “A sloth with a Santa hat?”

“It’s an ugly sweater party and I knew you wouldn’t have gone out to buy one, so I took the liberty.”

“It’s so... _red_ ,” Hecate said, her tone both disdainful of the color and confused as to the provenance of such an item. “Was there nothing available in a darker color?”

“I know you prefer cool tones and black, but I thought this much more appropriate for the event.”

“But red?”

“You look very striking in red.”

“Is that your polite way of telling me that I’m too pale?”

“No. It’s my completely truthful way of saying you look lovely in red.”

Hecate froze for a moment, unsure if this conversation had veered into flirting or if Ada was just making a thoroughly biased but platonic statement. She wasn’t sure if it was her own wishful thinking or if Ada’s cheeks had taken on a slightly more rosy tone. “Well, thank you. For the compliment and the sweater. Even if there is a sloth with a Santa hat on it.”

“Do you really hate it that much?” Ada’s brow crinkled in concern. “I just thought-”

Hecate was quick to sooth, interrupting Ada before she could continue with that line of thought. “No, it was very thoughtful of you, and you’re right, I hadn’t bought anything for tonight. Thank you, Ada.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, if you’re asking if I’ll feel absolutely ridiculous wearing this, then the answer is without a doubt. But if you’re asking whether or not I’ll wear it to Dimity’s party tonight, then the answer is yes.” Hecate offered a tentative smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling in happiness when Ada clapped her hands together in delighted relief.

“You’ll look no more ridiculous than the rest of us, I can promise you that,” Ada said over her shoulder as she moved to check her own pigeonhole. “I know for a fact that Gwen’s sweater lights up in a slightly suggestive manner. And Algernon doesn’t have the best taste on a good day, so you can guarantee his will be interesting.”

Hecate found herself nodding along with the statement before becoming distracted by the way Ada bit her lip as she flicked through the stack of envelopes she’d retrieved. It took her a moment to realize that for the conversation to continue she would need to make some sort of contribution. Unfortunately, her distracted thoughts kept looping back around to what it might be like for Ada to bite her lip instead and Hecate knew better than to express that particular thought.

“I will leave my sweater to be a surprise though,” Ada said as she straightened and made to throw away the entirety of her mail. She smiled over at Hecate. “Are we still meeting for dinner before we head over?”

“Of course. It wouldn’t be wise to show up at Dimity’s on an empty stomach,” Hecate said with a smile of her own. “Do you remember when Celeste Gimlet showed up without having eaten first? I never would have pegged her as one to dance on a table.”

“She was always a bit of a dark horse. So we’ll meet at that cafe you like at 7?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Excellent.”

“I look forward to it.” Hecate’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed a gentle pink as she realized exactly how the words might sound. As much as she might fantasize about saying such things, she was usually so careful with how much she shared. Her mind looped through the possible consequences of her slip. She hoped Ada wouldn’t even notice. The words themselves were innocuous after all.

“Me too.” Ada’s bright smile was both soothing and confusing to Hecate. It was safer to assume that Ada was just excited about the party and the promise of pastries that a trip to this particular cafe always meant.

Hecate was too caught up in her analysis of what the smile could mean to catch what Ada said next, her only clue that she’d said anything the expectant look on Ada’s face. “I’m sorry. I was caught up in a thought. What were you saying?”

Ada chuckled. “I said, make sure you wear the sweater. Even if you don’t care for it, I know you’ll look lovely in it anyway. You should wear red more often than you do.”

Hecate felt quite certain that something in her brain was short circuiting because there was a very definite possibility that Ada was openly flirting with her by repeating her thoughts on the color red. Unfortunately, flirtation didn’t come naturally to Hecate and she didn’t know how to respond without humiliating either herself, Ada, or the both of them in one fell swoop if she was misinterpreting the situation. She found it safer to simply nod.

“Well, I have a meeting in 5 minutes, so I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you at 7.”

Ada offered an awkward little wave before turning and leaving the room. Hecate waited a few moments before once more taking the sweater from its bag. She held it out in front of her, examining the snowflake pattern and large gray sloth that dominated the garment. Staring at it made her smile. Thinking about Ada searching for what she thought was the perfect sweater for Hecate made her smile even wider. She smiled as she folded the sweater and placed it gently back into its gift bag. She smiled as she returned to her classroom. Despite her best efforts, she even smiled as her students entered for the final lesson of the school day.

Hecate smiled because she knew that she would spend her evening with Ada. She smiled because she was excited and nervous and happy; and she was secure in the knowledge that even if she’d read the situation wrong that afternoon, she had the best of friends of in Ada. She smiled because she was hopeful and hope was a powerful thing. Hecate was going to cling to that feeling for as long as possible. Even if that feeling was wrapped in a garishly red sloth-covered holiday sweater.


End file.
